Tenten's Happy Ending
by ReaperDuckling
Summary: "Lee… Lee, you have to stop this! He's not going to come back just because you keep staring at that stupid piece of rock! He wouldn't want this, you wouldn't want this for him if you'd been the one dead, right! LEE!" Part of the Happy Ending series


**AN: **I want this to happen SO BAD

**Warnings: **This is so sweet you'll all have cavities when you've finished reading

_**~8**__**th**__** of June~ **_

They put up another war memorial.

A simple stone standing next to the other by the graveyard, the one from the third ninja war, with name after name after name of family and friends and coworkers carved into it with small, delicate letters.

The name at the top of the list was Tsunade's.

Her name was traced with gentle fingers by Shizune, that was sitting by the foot of the stone sobbing quietly even as Kakashi held his speech to the villagers, _his _villagers now, of how the fallen would never be forgotten, of how they were _heroes. _

He spoke pretty words of peace and new beginnings, the syllables rolling off of his tongue clumsily, and had to fight the urge to smile (_a twisted, sad smile_) when he caught himself telling everyone about the will of fire, and the springtime of youth.

Kakashi watched his people morn; watched Tsume hug Hinata to her harshly (_the older woman crying for the death of her only son, the younger for her comrades and her father_), watched the cold emptiness swim in Ino's, Shikamaru's, Chouji's and Lee's eyes, and the tears that fell freely from Naruto's cheeks (_he cried for them all, friends and strangers, deceased and those left to live with the weight of it. It made Kakashi think bitterly about how he should have been made Hokage, how much more __**worthy **__Naruto would have been_) – and it made him think about the joint shinobi army, about the pretty words of alliances and friendship, about one nation, one people.

And yet, the only names written on the stone were the ones of Konoha's own.

In death, everyone had been divided, and everyone was alone.

He thought about his meeting with his father in the afterlife, and wondered how many others there were sitting there now, staring at the flickering of flames in the darkness of limbo, awaiting their loved ones.

He wondered if Neji was one of them, waiting to tell Lee that it was alright, he'd given his life willingly but they'd always be friends, please be happy? Was Hiashi sitting next to him, waiting for Hinata and Hanabi?

He wondered if Tsunade had been reunited with Jiraiya, and if, at least in death, he'd finally found the courage to tell her how he felt.

A mental image of Shikaku, Chôza and Inoichi sitting by the fire, laughing and reminiscing about the good old days of their life's while awaiting their children and wife's struck him suddenly, making him force down a smile.

And then another, one of Rin and Obito (_a child in death. Innocent and pure, like he'd once been, before war and death and __**pain**__ had crushed and malformed him_) sitting by the fire, waiting for _**him**_, for them to be together again like they were meant to – and suddenly he knew, he just _**knew**_, that they'd be alright.

There was a wedding ring around his finger, spreading warmth throughout his entire body, and before he knew what he was doing, Kakashi found himself walking up to Shizune by the stone and putting a hand on her trembling shoulder.

He raised his head, and spoke to his people.

"We'll be alright… _They're _watching over us."

_**~29**__**th**__** of May~**_

Technically speaking, this was illegal.

Even though they felt like grownups nowadays, none of them would be of legal drinking age in at least two years, making Sakura feel slightly nervous as she went up to the bar to order refills for everyone.

It was alright though - no one had been asking for legitimization since the war ended, and they'd made sure to go to one of the inns which no one they knew ever visited (_only made possible because, with the exception of the ramen stands that had come into a sudden fashion, no other business had been so quick to recover and multiply as the local pubs had in the ruins of Konoha_).

Shino had been the one suggesting, as strange as it may seem, saying that it might relieve some tension left from the battle, and together with Naruto they'd manage to gather all of the surviving members of the four most successful ninja teams of their generation to this little outing.

At the moment they were sitting crouched together around a corner table, watching Lee-kun and Naruto battle a fierce arm wrestling match with what seemed like most of the pub as cheering spectators.

"IF I LOSE THIS, I MUST DO ONE THOUSAND ONE-ARMED PUSH UPS WITH TENTEN ON MY BACK!" She heard Lee scream, and smiled.

"Had a little too much, had he?" The barista asked as he gave her the plate of beverages.

"Oh no, that's just him. He's been drinking diet coke all evening! Trust me…" Sakura smiled sheepishly. "…if he was drunk, you'd _**know.**_"

Giving him his money, she balanced the heavy plate easily with one hand and turned to join her friends.

She pushed through the thick crowd of people littering around their table, using her free arm to elbow them in their sides or simply throw them to the floor whenever they got too close to tipping the drinks, and was just about to push through the last layer when she heard Lee's shout of: "NOOOOOOO!" and Naruto's boost of triumphant laughter.

Half the crowd cheered, the other half cursed; money was exchanged and it made her think about Tsunade, which made her think about just how much she could use another drink.

Pushing past the man standing in front of her, she put the drinks on their table and sat down next to Sai, that was way too engrossed in watching Naruto celebrate to even notice.

Jeeze, if he got any more obvious, he'd just have to get a big club with the words "I love you Naruto!" written on it and hit the aforementioned, oblivious male in the face with it…

Shaking the mental images from her head she decided that, yeah, she _**definitely **_needed a drink!

As she took one of the small shots of sake from the table and sipped it, she watched Rock Lee make his way from the couches and onto the now quickly emptying floor in front of it, getting down to balance on the palm of one hand and the tips of twenty toes.

"Yosh, Tenten! Get onto me!" He shouted, making the brunette flush dark red in embarrassment.

"_Why?!_" She half screamed, half whined.

"Because I lost my battle against Naruto-kun, and now I must atone to become strong!"

"Yes but _why me?!_"

He gave her a dazzling smile, one big and white enough to practically illuminate the entire room, and blushed cutely.

"Because I trust you, Tenten."

For the first time that evening, the entire group fell into an awkward silence.

Hinata was blushing, yet smiling, ever so slightly; Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji looked _really _uncomfortable; Naruto was as oblivious as ever, still basking in his victory; Sai was looking from Lee to Tenten and back again, over and over, most likely trying his hardest to decipher the situation; and when Ino met Sakura's eyes from across the table, the blond couldn't quite keep herself from letting out a small, knowing giggle.

Tenten (_more red faced than ever now_) gave her a daring glare, took one of the shots of sake from the table and gulped it down, and then promptly pushed her way out from her place on the couch to go and sit on Lee's back.

"Don't go too fast, or I swear to Kami I will throw up on you…" she muttered darkly.

"YOSH!" Lee shouted, and then went all too fast.

Turning away from the spectacle, Sakura decided to make a challenge of her own.

"Oy, Naruto…" Smirking at the male, she pushed the drinks to the far end of the table and put her arm down there instead, giving all of them a confident flex of her muscles. "…how about we make this into a _real _challenge?"

A swell of pride filled her heart as all color slowly left his face and a look of dread came over it instead.

"Ehm… But… But Sakura-chaaaan…~"

_**~21**__**st**__** of June~ **_

"Lee… Lee, you have to stop this! He's not going to come back just because you keep staring at that stupid piece of rock! He wouldn't want this, _**you **_wouldn't want this for him if you'd been the one dead, right?!_** LEE!**_"

He wouldn't listen.

He rarely did nowadays.

Most of the time, he'd spend his days staring at the war memorial, thinking of Kami knows what as his eyes grew darker and darker in their sockets no matter what Tenten said or did, cried or shouted or hugged or even _**kissed **_(_it had been her first, wanted for so long, given in a desperate attempt to take his mind off the pain,_ _yet thoroughly ignored_).

Sometimes he'd crawl out of his shell and train and laugh and smile again, like he'd used to, lifting her spirits with foolish hope - but then suddenly, he'd crumble and fade away, out of her grasp, and it _**killed her **_every time.

It broke her heart.

Couldn't he see that she was just as devastated as he was, that Neji's death kept her up at night as well?

Why didn't _**her **_pain matter to him, as his did to her?

Tenten sighed, and turned to leave.

He didn't say anything to stop her.

She did anyway.  
"Have you talked to Gai-sensei?"

No response.

She sighed again, feeling her heart _**ache **_in her chest, and walked away.

If _she_ couldn't get through to him, then she'd just have to find someone else that could…

_**~29**__**th**__** of May~ **_

"Eight hundred and seventy seven…"

"An ace… take one drink."

Chouji chugged the sake cup like a pro.

"Nine. Pick a rhyme, Ino!"

"Rose." The girl smiled sweetly.

"Froze."

"Chose."

"…eight hundred and ninety one…"

"Blows."

"Ehm… Hoes?"  
"Naruto!" Sakura smacked him over the arm.

"Woes."

"Hose."

"Nose!"

"…nine hundred and two…"

"I should have chosen something more difficult…" the blond sighed and took a sip of water.

Sakura smiled at her, thought about how cute Ino was and how lucky she was to have her as a friend, which led her to the conclusion that she was thoroughly _**wasted**_.

Then again; everyone but Lee seemed to be – Tenten had fallen asleep on his back, Hinata wouldn't stop giggling, Ino was practically _**clinging **_to Chouji, Shikamaru seemed strangely alert for once, Shino kept complaining about how hot it was and taking off his clothes (by now he was sitting in nothing but a t-shirt, boxers and, of course, his sun glasses, showing more skin than Sakura had ever seen on him), Naruto took every opportunity he could to do sexy no jutsu (which got worse and worse the drunker he got by the way – now they just made him look like a drag queen with too much makeup and an alarming amount of body hair) and Sai was blushing like a virgin maid. If he hadn't been pinned in so tightly between Sakura and Shikamaru, she was sure that he'd be swaying in his seat.

"…nine hundred and twenty five…"

"Naruto, you're next!"

He pulled a card from the deck and put it on the table.

Heart of two.

Shakily, he raised one cup of sake after the other to his mouth and swallowed them down.  
They'd been playing Fubar for the last forty-five minutes now, while Tenten snored and Lee did his torturous, one armed pushups; the time was 2:15 and the small bar had almost completely emptied around them.

"…nine hundred and thirty three…"

It was Sakura's turn.

Fighting the sudden wave of vertigo and nausea that took her, she pulled a trembling hand out to pick a card and place it face up on the table.

Heart of four.

Suddenly, everyone was interested, and through her drunken daze, she smiled evilly.

A four of any type of card meant that she'd get to ask every player, one after the other, whatever she wanted (!), and they _**had **_to answer it.

Shikamaru was the only one that had gotten one so far, and he'd only asked boring, simple questions like "what's your favorite color" or "do you like soccer?" in order to get away from the troublesome responsibility as quickly as possible; making everyone annoyed, yet relieved, simultaneously.

"…nine hundred and forty nine…"

Sakura wasn't going to abuse the power given to her though, she thought as she observed her friends. No, she was going to use this opportunity to get some _**facts **_out of them, things that she'd always wondered but been too ashamed to ask.

"…nine hundred and fifty five…"

And she was going to start with…

"Naruto!" She slurred, before she could stop herself. "What are those weird whisker things on your cheeks? Are they like… scars or tattoos or birth marks or… _**what are they**_?"  
Damn.

She hadn't meant to be so shallow.

Naruto only stared at her for a long, long time tough, before he slurred back just as intelligently: "I have _**whiskers **_on my cheeks?!"

Through the silence that followed, the only sounds audible was Lee's heavy panting, and the count of his pushups.

"…nine hundred and sixty, nine hundred and sixty one, nine hundred and sixty two…"

She decided to move on.

"Ino! Is it true that you're joining ANBU?"

Through the rest of the interrogation, Sakura got to know that yes, Ino _was _intending to join ANBU, Chouji was in love but refused to tell in whom (and even though Sakura was drunk and her observational powers wasn't on top, the look of jealousy that crossed Ino's eyes at that was painfully obvious), Shino wore his sunglasses all the time because he thought they looked cool, Hinata was _not _a virgin and Shikamaru and Temari were _not _having secret sex thank you very much a change of subject would be nice now _**please?! **_

"…nine hundred and ninety one…"

"So…" Sakura turned to Sai, the last of her victims, feeling her diabolical, genius plan close around him like a Venus flytrap and mentally laughing at him as it did so.

"So?" Her teammate smiled back at her falsely.

"…I'd like you to tell us…"

"…nine hundred and ninety five…"

"…if you have any feelings…"

"…nine hundred and ninety six…"

"…for Naruto, Sai?"

For two, tense seconds, everyone froze, and Sakura swore she felt the temperature drop by ten degrees as she stared into her friend's unreadable dark eyes, watching as they grew wider and wider with every passing millisecond.

As all color left his already pale face, she almost felt a little bad for him, but after observing him run after Naruto for what seemed like an eternity by now she was _**sick and tired **_of not seeing any progress in their relationship, and had decided to take things into her own hands.

She was drunk, she was young and she was victorious – there simply was no stopping her.

He opened his mouth, looking so small and vulnerable next to her that she started doubting the wisdom of her actions anyway, despite her previous confidence.

Then, simply because Naruto was Naruto and Naruto was an idiot, the blond ruined _**everything! **_

"What kind of stupid question is that, Sakura?" He laughed, immediately bringing all attention to himself as he scratched himself on the back of his head and smiled that stupid, bright smile of his. "Of course Sai's got feelings for me, isn't it obvious?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

From the corner of her vision, she saw a small shimmer of hope give a sudden spark in Sai's eyes.

"Y-you _**knew**_?"

"Well of course…" Naruto frowned at him, confused. Sakura had a very, _**very **_bad feeling about this. "…we're friends, right?" He laughed sheepishly. "I thought you knew! I'm sorry if I didn't make it more clear to you, Sai!"

Something broke in the dark eyed boy then.

His eyes deadened, the smile on his face looked so fake Sakura was sure that it must _**hurt **_and his shoulders slumped, if only ever so slightly.

"Thank you, Naruto, for clearing that up for me. You know I have some… _**issues **_with understanding human emotions."

"No problem!"

"ONE THOUSAND!" Lee suddenly exclaimed in an exhausted, yet victorious sounding voice, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Laying down to shrug the still sleeping Tenten down onto the floor gently, the spandex clad youth continued to stagger to the table and grab a hold of one of the cups.  
"Now I'm _**really **_thirsty…"

"NO, LEE WAIT THAT'S…!"

It was too late.

Before anyone had been able to stop him, he'd chugged the entire cup of sake down his throat.  
Well fuck.

_**~22**__**nd**__** of June~**_

Walking into the small wedding dress shop she'd been told that Gai-sensei was at, Tenten immediately felt _very _out of place.

Everywhere around her there were frilly western dresses in white and pink; elegant kimonos in purple and red, and, standing loitering around them, beautiful women with manicured nails (civilians no doubt, no kunoichi could keep her nails that long and clean), shiny long hair and painted lips.

It would seem that after the war, people had started realizing just how _short _life really was, and a sudden wedding (and pregnancy) wave had hit the village.

Feeling ugly and out of place, Tenten started moving towards the men's section, hoping to find her sensei there, when suddenly she caught sight of a big, white dog that couldn't be anyone but…  
"Akamaru?"  
The ninja dog turned to look at her, having heard her whisper from the other end of the crowded shop, and gave a happy bark.

"What are ya' yelling at now, ya' stupid mutt?" A red headed, dark skinned girl she didn't recognize exclaimed; and then Hinata was next to her, asking her kindly to please don't be rude to him, Karui-san…?

"It's only a dog! Ain't like he knows what I'm saying!"

"She asked you to stop, Karui." Another figure she didn't recognize appeared, a dark skinned boy their age that was holding a stack of different kimonos carefully in his arms.

Tenten could only stare, trying to figure out what on earth Hinata was doing in a wedding shop with a bunch of strangers, when suddenly the aforementioned girls pale eyes met hers, and a look of pure terror overcame her.

"Hey, Hinata, what's wrong?" The male asked her.

The red head followed her trail of eyesight though, and narrowed her eyes when it ended on Tenten, that still had no idea of what was going on.  
"Is that chick bothering you?" The girl punched her own palm threateningly. "You want me to go and kick her ass?"

"N-no…" she had to strain her ears to hear what she said. "…she's a… a friend. I-I just haven't… I haven't r-really _told _her…"

Haven't told her?

Then suddenly, all the pieces fit together, and a shock of electricity passed through her body.

Hinata was getting _**married?! **_

_**~29**__**th**__** of May~**_

It had been nearly two minutes since Lee had drunk that cup of sake, and he hadn't moved a muscle ever since.

He was just _standing _there, staring down at the floor, the empty cup still in his hand; _**and it was creeping everyone out. **_

Sakura was standing next to him, hands hovering in the air inches away from his shoulder because she was afraid that if she touched him, he'd suddenly snap and _**destroy her **_with his drunken fist technique.

"Lee…? Are you feeling alright…?"  
An eerie silence had dawned upon the group.  
Suddenly, everyone was sober.

Everyone but Sai, it would seem.

"Why are you all acting so scared?" He smiled and stood up, sending a rush of warning signals screaming all throughout Sakura's body.

"Really, how dangerous could he be? He barely looks conscious to me."

"Sai, shut up! You haven't seen-"

"I've seen enough…" he cut her off darkly, and there was so much _**pain **_in his eyes that it stole her breath away. "…I've seen him fail to protect his friends. I've seen him lose. I've seen him weak and pathetic, and everyone knows that if it weren't for Naruto giving him that power boost, he _**never **_would have been able to avenge Neji-"

Lee shot his fist out like a viper, striking Sai's face so hard he fell to the floor and then the green clad teenager was over him, straddling his waist and punching him over and over and over; splattering blood with each strike.

Naruto was the first to reach them; he got a kick to the groin and fell down screaming.

Sakura got head-butted so hard her knees gave in on her and she fell to the floor, Hinata got kicked into a table, Shikamaru managed to bind him with his shadows but Lee quickly tore away and knocked him unconscious, Chouji got punched in the face, Ino tried her mind body switch technique but missed and passed out, and Shino got tossed to the other side of the room and into a mirror.

Through the daze of pain, Sakura watched Lee sit down in front of Sai and continue punching him; hard, heavy strikes that made the floor tremble – and then Tenten was behind him. She was reaching out to touch him, and Sakura wanted to scream at her to _**run **_but it was too late; Lee had already turned, and he'd _**kicked her**_, right on the side of her face, making the floorboards break around her as her body hit the ground.

Lee froze.

All time seemed to have stopped.

Suddenly, he looked _**painfully **_sober again, as he reached out towards her with trembling, bloody hands and checked her vitals.

Sakura heard Tenten whisper something in a small, broken voice; Lee gave out a heavy sob and then he was on his feet, fleeing out of the bar.

Tenten's sadly smiling face was the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness.

_**~22**__**nd**__** of June~ **_

"So… You're getting married?"

Hinata nodded.

"To that guy?" She gestured towards the dude on the other side of the shop she'd just found out was named Darui.

Hinata blushed, but nodded again.

"That you met like… what? Two days ago?"

"Three." The raven put her fingers together nervously and looked at the floor.

"And you're doing it in three months?"

Another nod.

A trail of cold sweat ran down Tenten's back.

This situation was trying her patience.

"Hinata…" The girl looked up at her again, eyes wide and nervous. "…you're _seventeen._"

"I'll be eighteen this winter."

"That's _**still **_too early to marry!"

"I-it's not like I have a ch-choice…" she blushed.

Tenten sighed.

"Aren't you supposed to be the leader of your family now? Doesn't that mean that you can decide when and whom to marry yourself?"

"Th-that's not how it w-w-works. My life is my clan's life now…"

"That's stupid!"

"It's not!" Hinata declared forcefully, looking back up at Tenten with a fire to her eyes that the brunette hadn't seen before.

Chocked, she slunk back into her seat, defeated.

They fell into an awkward silence after that, listening to the sounds of the busy little shop.

"Is he nice to you?"

The raven gave her a sweet little smile.

"Yes."

Another silence, only this time, it was a lot more pleasant.

"Tenten-san…" Hinata whispered, suddenly nervous. "…you won't… won't _tell _anyone about this, right? Please?"

"You're going to have to tell them sooner or later."

"I know! I just… _I _want t-to do it."

Tenten nodded.

"Alright. I promise…" She grinned. "…but you owe me one!"

_**~22**__**nd**__** of June~**_

She'd found him by the dressing rooms together with an exhausted looking employee, that took the first chance she got to _**run **_once she'd realized that Tenten and Gai knew each other and someone else could work as his adviser.

Now she'd been sitting in that chair for thirty minutes, watching him run in and out of that stupid dressing room in a number of equally stupid suits and (once) dresses like a Duracell bunny on a sugar overload, her ass was hurting like a _**bitch **_and Gai-sensei simply _**refused **_to listen to what she had to say!

"So? What do you think of this one?" He asked, a winning smile on his lips as he practically _danced _out of the dressing room, wearing a bright green suit with a stupid orange tie.

She sighed.  
"Why isn't Kakashi-sensei here doing it with you?"

"Because my beloved Eternal Rival is busy being a Hokage, of course! He has promised me to join me this weekend!"

"Then why do you bother doing this _**before the weekend**_?"

"Because last weekend he promised to go to the wedding planner with me, but ended up busy with Hokage business! And the weekend before that, he missed our trip to the Yamanaka flower shop, and the weekend before that…"

"I get it, I get it…!" She sighed again, louder this time, not allowing herself to feel worried for her sensei (because the way Gai was sounding, it didn't seem like Kakashi wantedto get married at all!). "…but I don't have time for this, sensei! I came here to talk to you about… WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?!"

He was admiring himself in the mirror, giving his reflection a flirty wink.  
At the sound of her scream, he turned around and gave her a smile.

"Looking good, eh?"

"No!"  
"No? Then I better try another one…"

"NO! I didn't mean… NO!"

He disappeared back into the dressing room and she followed him to stand by the entrance.

"Gai-sensei, you _**have **_to talk to Lee! He hasn't been himself since the war! He just keeps staring at that stupid memorial all the time, he doesn't even train anymore and I'm not sure if he's eating properly! He won't listen to me, but I'm _**sure **_that he'll listen to you, if only you'd talk to him!"

Silence.

"Gai-sensei PLEASE!"

"Our adorable Lee is going through a rough time right now, Tenten…" The sullen reply came from the other side of the curtain. "…he needs some time alone, to think about what's important. The best thing to do now is just leave him and-"  
"NO!" She screamed. There were tears in her eyes, her heart was beating madly and she could feel herself tremble. Why wouldn't he _**listen?! **_"You're just… You're just too caught up in your own stupid wedding; you've stopped caring about everything else! Don't you see?! Kakashi-sensei doesn't even seem to care that much about you, but Lee _**loves **_you! He looks up to you, sees you as a father, but now when he _**really needs you**_, you're letting him down because of your own selfishness! You _**have to talk with him**_, Gai-sensei, or I will _**NEVER FORGIVE YOU!**_"

She was panting heavily, clutching her fists so tightly together it _**hurt**_, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.

She'd gone too far, she knew.

That didn't mean that she'd apologize, though.

"Listen, Tenten. Lee needs the solitude…"

"NO!"

She ran.

_**~3**__**rd**__** of July~**_

Hinata and Akamaru watched him sit by the memorial, legs pulled up to his chest, simply staring at the cold piece of rock in the grass.

He didn't react when she came to sit beside him, nor when the dog gave him a lick on the cheek.

She hadn't seen him since the funeral, when the memorial had been put up; hadn't had the time or the energy to visit the dead herself yet, and he looked worse than she'd ever seen him.

The lines under his eyes went deep, and his normally energetic face seemed pale and as lifeless as the stone in front of them.

She felt a sudden clench of envy at the thought of that; here he was, throwing his life away for a _**dead**_ person, while she didn't even have the time to _**sleep **_because of her duties as the head of her clan and her marriage preparations.

It didn't seem fair that she wouldn't get to say her goodbyes to her father, her cousin _**or**_ her best friend because of lack of time; when Lee had all the time in the world _**yet still refused to do it. **_

But she wasn't there to yell at him.

She'd given her friend a promise, and she intended to keep it.

"Lee-san…" she prompted softly.  
He didn't react.

"H-he was my cousin, you know…" still no response. She refused to back down. "…if he'd st-still lived, he'd be my f-fiancé now. He loved us both, Lee-san…" she smiled softly at the stone. "…th-that's why I know, that he wouldn't want this. He'd want you to be strong. For Gai-sensei and Tenten…" she crawled up to sit in front of him, cradling his face gently in her hands to force him to look into her eyes. "…and me. Won't you train with me, Lee-san? Then we can become strong together, for him."

There was a long, long silence.

"Tenten put you up to this, didn't she?" He finally asked her, voice low and hoarse from lack of use.

"Yes…" she put her hands into her lap, and gave him her sweetest smile. "…she cares for you. So did he…" she nodded against the stone. "…and so do I."

Without further ado, she stood up and reached her hand out invitingly.

"Come t-train with me, Lee-san!"  
No reaction.

A sudden memory hit her, making her smile.

"If you do, I'll race you to the training ground. The looser has to run ten times around the village with the winner on his or her back."

Another, long silence fell upon them, making the smile on her lips crumble with doubt.

"Make it twenty, and I'm in."

A wave of happiness and pride erupted inside of her, creating a big, sunny grin that would have put Naruto to shame on her face.

"You're on!"

He took her hand.

_**~15**__**th**__** of July~**_

"…and then we sparred all morning and you should have _**seen her **_Tenten! She's easily as strong as Neji and her byakugan is _**perfect**_…!"

Her hands were trembling.

"…sure, I beat her this time, but that's just because she's not accustomed to my fighting style yet! I've had years of practice fighting the Hyuugas with Neji…"

There was a smile on her face, but it was forced and hurt to keep up.

Why…?

"…then afterwards, we went and got some breakfast at Ichiraku's…"

Why did everything feel so _**wrong?! **_

"…there we met up with Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan didn't seem flustered at all…!"

This was what she'd wanted, wasn't it?

For Lee to be himself again - for him to be happy?

Then why did she _**hurt **_so much?!

"…I think that finally, she might have gotten over her crush on him!"

Her hands were _**trembling**_.

"Though it's sad to see young love wither and die like that, I think that it may be for the best…"

She forced back a sob.

"…some people are just not meant to be."

And, just like that, Tenten _**broke**_.

Clenching her arms around herself, she felt like she was crumbling under the weight of her own body as she ducked her face down in a desperate, last attempt at hiding the tears rinsing down her cheeks.

Her entire body was shaking with sobs; unwanted, half guttural sounds of pain kept spilling out of her throat traitorously and she was clenching her eyes together so tightly it _**hurt**_, shaking her head as if she could force the thoughts spinning in there out of it.

She'd been feeling so worried, so sad and confused and _**betrayed **_when Lee had withdrawn himself from the world, from _**her **_that had just as much reason to be heartbroken as he had, that _**understood**_. She'd tried everything - even giving him her first kiss, and it hadn't worked!

And then she'd asked Hinata to talk to him in a desperate, halfhearted attempt when Gai-sensei had refused – and the other woman had pulled him right out of his shell and into his usual, spandex clad, stupidly grinning, hardworking, nice guy-posing self again; suddenly making herself the very light of Lee's life, a new Neji, a new goal.

It _**hurt. **_

Whenever she saw them together, betrayal would stab at Tenten's heart.

She hadn't been sleeping well since the war, pictures of both her team mates appearing under her eyelids whenever she closed them, but she hadn't allowed herself to grieve because he'd needed her, she'd known that.

Only now, he was fine and she wasn't – and he didn't even seem to notice!

Didn't he see how much she loved him?  
Didn't he _**care?! **_

"I'm sorry, Tenten…" he whispered suddenly, breaking her line of thought as he put his arms around her body and pulled her to him. Her head was pressed against his chest and his nose was in her hair. She didn't stop crying. "…I'm sorry, I really am…" he sounded so calm and collected, but she could hear his heart beating rapidly against her ear. "…I've been so selfish. I didn't see… I'm sorry…" His lips brushed against her forehead, making her breathe in sharply. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, carefully, as if he was afraid that she'd run away, he put his hand against her chin and made her look up at him.

His big black eyes looked even bigger than usual, and there was a light blush on his cheeks.

Lee gave his bottom lip a nervous lick.

She started gravitating towards him.

"I'm sorry…"

They kissed.

A long, tender brush of lips against lips; no tongue or teeth or nails breaking skin, just a sweet, loving kiss made even sweeter by Lee wiping the tears that wouldn't stop running off of her cheeks and the way that their eyelids fell in pace with each other's.

They kissed, and through the heartache, the confusion and the erratic fluttering of her heart, Tenten realized that, even if she didn't forgive him right then and there, they'd be alright.


End file.
